The Building Industry Association is a great organization comprised of our colleagues who work in the Southern California development industry. It’s such a great organization, and our company has benefited so much through our involvement, that I wanted to take a few minutes to explain why it’s so valuable.

I should also say that the cost of membership is so low as to be not worth mentioning. Our company paid $750 this year, so if we got one deal through the BIA over the next 10 years it would pay for itself.

1. Networking

Networking is the obvious reason to join the BIA. If you think about any business you’ve done and how that business was likely tied to the relationships you have, it only makes sense to grow your network as much as possible. Joining the BIA is like hacking your way to a much larger network. Throughout Southern California the BIA is putting on networking events seemingly every week. Next week we’re sponsoring an event at a preseason Lakers game. The people at the BIA work hard to make sure that each event delivers a lot of value for the people who attend.

2. Government Affairs

The number one complaint that people have about California development is how it’s unnecessarily complicated due to over-regulation. There’s one organization that is constantly working hold off the forces of anti-growth and that’s the BIA. Already this year they fixed a piece of proposed legislation that many in the industry felt posed an existential threat to the development industry.

I’ve also personally benefited from the BIA’s great government affairs team as we’ve been able to work with them and key decision makers at cities to propose more progressive development policies.

We’re all benefiting from the work the BIA is doing, so in some sense being a member is just the right thing to do.

3. Professional Development

In addition to the great networking events that the BIA puts on they also have a number of conferences which are must-attends for development professionals. If you have young people in your organization these conferences are great ways for them to continue their professional development. Earlier this year we attended a Housing Policy Conference and the local chapter also put on a Water Conference.

BIA membership is so reasonably priced and has so many benefits, I really don’t see how any business involved in Southern California development wouldn’t want to be a member. If your organization is interested in joining here’s a membership application that you can fill out in a few minutes.

If you have any questions just call (909-989-8590) or email me and I’ll be happy to answer your questions.